Today, many governmental, non-governmental; and other agencies, organizations, groups, associations, companies, enterprises, and individuals (collectively, “benefit providers”) offer targeted benefits of various types to those individuals, families, businesses, non-profits and charities, educational institutions and others (collectively, benefit-seeking “entities”) whom they deem eligible, qualified and entitled to receive these said targeted benefits. These benefit providers offer all kinds of useful products, services, programs, assistance, information, money & monetary equivalents, and other “things” of value. These benefits include federal, state, and local entitlements like welfare, food stamps, rent vouchers, employment/unemployment, disability, survivor, retirement; property rehabilitation, modernization and retrofitting; government housing, grants and loans to start or grow a business; a reduced cost or free education, free or reduced cost research reports, books and materials, transportation, clothing, counseling, etc. Companies large and small offer discounts, giveaways, free premiums, free merchandise, grants, bonuses, and awards. Additional benefits offered by any number of benefit providers include free or reduced cost legal advice and services; foreclosed real estate; government jobs; police, customs, and other forced sales of personal property; reduced interest-rate real estate financing; reduced or zero down payment real estate loans; tax-sale real and personal property; educational grants, loans, scholarships, fellowships, internships, and awards; free and reduced-cost prescriptions and medical care/treatment; social security benefits; reduced price and financing for cars and other transportation; traveling and vacationing at reduced cost or for free. In total, there are literally 1000's of public and private sources offering an amazingly wide and diverse collection of such targeted benefits.
Entities become very interested in and anxious to acquire these benefits when informed of their existence; yet, currently, information about these numerous benefits exist in an extremely fragmented manner and are spread out across a wide range of informational sources including government books and manuals; public and private sector/commercial books, tapes, CDs, videos, pamphlets, reports, etc. Libraries, bookstores, and government repositories have carried any number of such benefit information resources for some years now. Today, much of this information is even available via the Internet at various government and non-governmental web sites. Yet, as helpful as these books, materials, and web sites can be in the right hands, they all still share a number of significant drawbacks which continues to make it difficult or next to impossible for the intended recipients of these numerous benefits to obtain what is available to them for their use. These problems result in a situation where the potential usefulness of these benefits has been greatly diminished and compromised.
Problem #1 is a lack of one single source to look to for all benefits. Basically, this important information is not located all in one place. To be sure no benefits were being missed would take days and weeks of research in the library; buying and digging through numerous manuals and books (some over 1000 pages long), tapes, CDs, and courses; visiting and researching web sites; and calling numerous government and non-governmental agencies, organizations, and companies; even calling elected government representatives and benefit program administrators. Though the rewards for such efforts are substantial, few have the time, energy, or knowledge needed to undertake such a “benefit trek.” As a result, few do.
Problem #2 is best summarized by quoting the large, bold statement appearing on page three of one of the aforementioned benefit information books, “WARNING: THIS BOOK IS OUT OF DATE.” This book goes on to explain how information is constantly changing in today's fast-paced world and how as soon as something is published, it is out of date. It's often six months to a year from the time a writer has finished their book until it's available for purchase by the benefit-seeking entity. While this timeline may be acceptable with fiction books, it's a major problem in the case of “benefit-information” books and materials. Benefit programs are modified or discontinued . . . available funds are used up . . . new programs are constantly being created . . . benefit provider contact information changes, etc. By their very nature, it's simply impossible for standard and common printed and audio/visual materials to keep up with such on-going changes.
Problem #3 is a lack of benefit personalization. While a few benefits are available to anyone who requests them, the large majority of benefits—and many of the most valuable—are designed only to fill the needs and desires of entities meeting specified qualifications and eligibility requirements as established by the benefit providers. In the case of an individual and depending on the benefit, such factor(s) could include where that person lives (country, state, county, city, zip code, etc.); whether retired or still working; their sex; renter or owner of their residence; marital/family status; with or without children; race/nationality/ancestry/ethnic origin; citizenship status; investments currently or previously held; current or previous employer(s); potential or actual current business ownership; residency at birth and currently; active or inactive armed forces; year born; occupation; education level; income level; the presence or lack of various physical, mental, health conditions; even the personal preferences of the entity. Books and other materials require the benefit-seeking entity to try and figure out for itself whether or not it may qualify for any particular benefit. Requiring many hours of additional reading and investigation, such efforts can be difficult and frustrating.
Problem #4 is the painfully large fund and resource expenditures made by many of the benefit providers in order to locate and notify their targeted entities of the existence of one or more benefits for which the targeted entity may be qualified for. Benefit providers have only two choices in this regard. Either they can spend little or nothing and hope for the help of the media and others to “get their message out,” or they can give up 20% to 50% or more of their valuable funds and resources on advertising and marketing to try and reach their targeted entities. Both options are inherently problematic; yet both are all too common, negatively impacting both the benefit providers and their targeted entities.
There is a need to provide easily accessible product/service/value benefit information (and—particularly in the case of “cash equivalents” such as vouchers, certificates, and the like—the benefits themselves) being offered by multiple benefit providers in real time to targeted entities; which said entities would otherwise find very difficult and time-consuming to locate and utilize. In this age of often daily benefit fluctuations, it is advantageous to a potential entity to be able to have accurate, real time information concerning benefit availability. As benefits availability and their respective terms, conditions, and eligibility requirements fluctuate, the importance to the entity of being able to respond to these fluctuations on a timely basis increases.
An entity could then decide in real time whether to apply for and utilize one or more available benefits while they are still available to said entity.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system whereby government and non-government product, service, program, assistance, information, value, and other benefit providers could supply their benefits in a manner which allows qualifying entities to more advantageously make use of such benefits. It is a further object of this invention to supply benefit providers with a marketing medium whereby entities seeking specific benefits may be made aware of modifications to benefits, discontinuances of benefits, and the availability of new benefits; all on very short notice; done automatically via a plurality of various “instant messaging/notification” devices/instrumentalities.